Pickles
by kawaiichiisaikitsune
Summary: [COMPLETE]Gaara and his siblings come for a visit and Lee's their tour guide! And what does it have to do with pickles? [Main LeeGaara, side pairings]
1. Visiting

**Pickles  
kawaiichiisaikitsune(blackharu2)**  
Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto! DON'T HURT ME ONEGAI ONEGAI! Ahem...gomen ne

**-Kiari-san appears out of nowhere- Kiari-san's got the straight-jacket!  
Dana-chan: What are you gonna do with that?  
Kiari-san: What do you think? MWA HA HA HA HA! -continues cackling evilly-  
Dana-chan: WOO HOO! THE GAS CHAMBER'S COMIN' EARLY! MY BEST B-DAY PRESENT EVER!  
Kiari-san: Riiight! -wraps Dana-chan in the straight-jacket- Now, enjoy! -Does Lee's good guy pose no. 109 while dragging off Dana-chan-  
Dana-chan(-being dragged away-): I WILL COME BACK ALIVE NO NEED TO WORRY! THE POWER OF YOUTH IS WITH ME!  
Kiari-san: Copycat! Kiari-san's mad at you for copying her.. Copycatter!  
Dana-chan: I DIDN'T COPY YOU I COPIED GAI-SENSEI AFTER YOU COPIED LEE-KUN!(-hugs Gaara pillow with Lee and Gaara on it-)  
Kiari-san: -pouting- Kiari-san doesn't like you anymore... -really drags off Dana-chan this time- Now read and enjoy!**Chapter 1: Coming for a Visit

The sand shinobi siblings had come for a visit to the village of Konoha. It had been six months since the group's rescue of Sasuke from Orochimaru. Through the mission, they had actually become...okay, friends, but like Gaara would ever admit that to anyone. And with their luck, they just had to run into him! Temari and Kankurou seemed pretty disgusted to see him so soon, but nothing could be read on Gaara's stoic face. They were just entering the village, walking through the huge gates, when he came running up to greet them. He was waving to them and yelling, "Gaara, it's so nice to see you again!"

The boy stopped right in front of the Shukaku vessel and crouched over, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Surprisingly, Gaara was the first to say anything back to him. "What are you doing Lee-kun?" his voice showing no emotion what-so-ever. Lee lifted his head to stare into the red-head's aqua green orbs.

The boy in the green spandex immediately straightened up and started crying anime-style. "Gaara-san just called me Lee-kun!" he exclaimed, making a total fool of himself. The fan wielder and puppet master stared at each other in confusion, their eyes saying, 'Did our little brother just give someone an honorific?' All that was heard was a grunt from Gaara.

"You guys, come follow me." Lee stated with his bandaged hand beckoning them. "I'll show you to the Hokage's office." Temari and Kankurou quickly regained their composure and walked in front of the second taijutsu master of the Hidden Leaf. 

They strolled down the dirt path in the direction of Godaime's office. Lee was pointing out random things to the siblings who all seemed awfully annoyed. "That's were my friend Joceline lives. Her pies are delicious," he told them, pointing to a small hut with his index finger. "And that's the bridge where Team 7 usually meets. Oh, and look, there they are now!" He bent over and put his hand above his eyes in an act of trying to see better. The shinobi that were accompanying him just watched him in utter disbelief. "Let's go visit them, okay, Gaara-san?" he asked walking over to Gaara and doing his best to pull off a puppy face.

Gaara just stared, looking at his adorable face. Lee had his lower lip out in a pout, his eyes pulling off the saddest look he could muster and his hands clasped in front of him in a pleading kind of way. "Fine," he muttered. He wanted the baffoon to stop making a face that made it impossible for him to look away. Which had Gaara totally surprised. Why couldn't he look away from this idiot? He then had an argument in his mind. _'Why the hell couldn't I look away?'_ Gaara shouted in his mind.

**_'Let me out so I can kill him!'_** Shukaku yelled.

_'Shut up, you damn racoon, and let me talk to myself!'_  
**_  
'Why the hell are you talking to yourself?' _**

_'Just let me, you damn racoon!'  
_  
**_'Fine, you inconsiderate brat!'  
_**  
_'Okay, now why couldn't I look away?'_ he re-asked himself.

_'Because you thought he looked cute,'_ the other half of his mind responded.

_'I, Sabuka no Gaara, do not think anybody is cute!'  
_  
_'Yeah, sure. Then why didn't you look away?'  
_  
_'That's what I'm trying to find out!'  
_  
_'Oh, stop denying it. You like him!'  
_  
_'I do not like anyone, especially not HIM!'  
_  
**_'Keep it down you brat! I'm trying to sleep!'   
_**  
_'Whatever'_ and the conversation ended.

They continued walking towards the bridge. Lee knew that Kakashi would be late, so he didn't have to worry about bothering the team. "Sakura-san! Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun! Hey you guys! Look who came to visit! It's Gaara-san and his siblings!" he yelled jumping up and down while waving his hands. Lee grabbed Gaara's hand and pulled him over while Temari and Kankurou stayed close behind. When they reached their destination, Gaara felt warm. The happy-go-lucky boy forgot to let go of his hand. Hopefully, nobody else noticed it. Naruto ran over to them and saw their hands.

"Hey, Gaara? Why is Lee holding your hand?" Gaara blushed at this comment. The worst part was, everyone else heard it and they were all staring at their hands.

Lee quickly let go of the other shinobi's hand and flushed, bowing his head down in utter embarrassment. He mumbled a quick, "I'm sorry," and scooted a little distance away from Gaara.

"Whoa! You two look like Hinata!" the blonde boy said, pointing his index finger in their direction. Sasuke glanced over to them and, seeing nothing interesting, closed his eyes and concentrated on other things. Naruto saw this and walked over to him. "Sasuke-teme, whatcha doing?" he questioned, waving a hand in front of the closed eyes of his friend.

"Don't call me a bastard, dope," he replied, grabbing Naruto's wrist and opening his eyes. All he saw were big pools of blue staring back at him.

Naruto leaned closer to Sasuke until his left cheek connected to the other's right. The blonde shinobi's smiling lips were very close to Sasuke's ear, "But, you know you love it when I call you that."

"I know, but...," he started, but was interrupted.

"Naruto, what are you doing to Sasuke-kun! Oh, poor Sasuke-kun, I'll save you!" Sakura exclaimed, running over to where Sasuke and Naruto were.

"Sakura," Sasuke stated in his usual calm voice while still staring into Naruto's eyes, "you're annoying." 

"Are you two gonna kiss or something?" Kankurou asked thoroughly disgusted, "'Cause if you are, I'm leaving." 

"Me too," Temari and Sakura replied in unison. Gaara huffed and looked away, while Lee just watched with curiousity. 

Sasuke crossed his arms across his chest, looked around, and noted what everyone was doing. Seemingly impossible, Naruto's grin got bigger. As everyone was still watching, Naruto swooped in and stole a kiss from Sasuke's lips.

All the jaws dropped, except for Gaara and Lee, who just stood there wide-eyed.

"Not in public," Sasuke moaned.

Sakura ran over in a frenzy and repeatedly punched Naruto, while Sasuke stared at her in surprise. Kankurou rapidly turned away, and started walking. He was followed by Temari, then Gaara, and lastly Lee. They were all quite dazed. None of them wanted to acknowledge what they had just witnessed. So, Lee hopped in front of them and continued on the "journey" to the Hokage's office, acting childish to put the scene out of their minds.

"That house is Jessica's. She always beats me at hide-and-seek," he informed them, pointing at a brownish, two-story house.

"How can you win at hide-and-seek?" Kankurou asked, confused.

"I always have to scream 'Oli-Oli-Oxenfree' and she never has to!" he explained. The others nodded in agreement.

They continued walking for a while longer, with Lee still pointing out random things. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Hokage's building. As the group started up the stairs, anyone nearby ran from the rather well-known Gaara of the Sand. They rushed to the office of the Godaime and knocked on the wooden door, awaiting an answer. They heard a muffled, "Come in." Lee opened the door and walked into the large room. "What is it?" the blonde woman asked. 

"The sand siblings need a place to stay for the night and I was wondering if they could stay here," Lee explained, quite proud of himself at what he said.

"I have no rooms that are vacant," was her reply, "Just keep them in your house," she added, not really caring what they did.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," he responded. She 'shoo'ed them out with a gesture of her hand. Lee kindly opened the door for them and ushered them out following close behind. They were out of the building in a matter of minutes. The four shinobi stood outside the building in the moist grass. "Well, I guess you guys are staying at my place," he told them.

"That's fine. It's better than staying in that crummy, old building," Temari said, waving her hand in front of her face to cool her off from the heat.

"Yeah," the puppet master agreed, sitting down in the grass with a sigh of relaxation. The three turned their heads to face Gaara.

"Whatever," he replied with his arms across his chest, leaning against a tree. 

"Well, we don't need to be at my house until later. So how about a tour around Konoha? You guys haven't been here for awhile, so it should be good," he informed them, his cheerful smile never leaving his face.

Gaara shrugged, while his brother and sister stated a simple, "Sure, why not?"

So, now they were going to have a tour. The bad part? Lee was the tour guide. How would they ever get through this day. Hopefully, the taijutsu master would make this interesting. It better be worthwhile.


	2. The Tour

**Pickles**  
**blackharu2**

Disclaimer: Me- Can you hear me now?  
Person on the line- Yes.  
Me- Good.  
Person on the line- Okay?  
Me- I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!  
Person on the line- AHHHH! MY EARS!  
Me- Ha ha ha ha ha, now you know! -hangs up-  
Person on the line- Freak  
Me- I HEARD THAT!  
Person on the line- AAAHHHHH! -hangs up-  
Me- Tee hee hee, I'm the best -gloats for a long time and then hangs up-  
**A/N: Hope you liked my wonderful skit that came to be on the spur of the moment! I thought it was funny! I wanna see much reviews I can get on the chapter, so if you could review it would mean a lot to me! Anywayz, knock yourself out with this next chapter! And remember THIS IS GAALEE & NARUSASU FIC AND THOSE PEOPLE GO WITH NO ONE ELSE!   
''--''--''--''Review Replies''--''--''--''  
blue leafy - **Thank you so much, sorry about the bad english stuff! English is my worst subject, but I still love to write! Thanks again for your review and I hope you like this chapter!  
**DarkvsLight - **Gaara is so hott, ne? I went crazy making that shower scene! I hope this is enough fluff for you, I thought it was kawaii! Thanks for reviewand and reading!  
**Flame-Kunoichi - **OMG! Thank you so much! If Gaara makes doppelgangers I'll let you have half, and then the other half **is mine! MWA HA HA !** Gomen nasai, my bad. Thanks for the cookie, here's a brownie -hands Flame-Kunoichi a brownie- I made it from Devil's Food cake mix, hee hee! Well, hope you like this chapter and I hope you review again!

Chapter 2: The Tour

They rested quietly for a while before Lee got extremely bored and decided to start the tour. He walked down the dirt path with the three siblings close behind. Knowingly, he pointed out everything he thought of importance. "That there is an acorn tree," he yelled pointing a finger at a very large tree, "Oo, oo, and there's a cute, small squirel running up it," he exclaimed overjoyed. Temari and Kankurou rolled their eyes at his naiveness, while Gaara just looked...uninterested. The taijutsu master ran up to the tree, trying to pet the squirel. The squirel that looked so sweet and innocent glared at him as he came closer and closer. When Lee got close enough to the tree, the squirel bit him and scurried up into its branches.

Lee grabbed his finger, which had just been bitten, and howled in pain. Kankurou started laughing, one hand on his stomach the other pointing at the innocent boy. Temari rolled her eyes and stood where she was, putting most of her weight on one leg, with her hands crossed over her chest. Gaara looked...uninterested, still. "Itai, itai, itai! IT HURTS!" he screamed, seeming to be in unimaginable pain. Some villagers stopped to stare at the genin, while others ignored the scene all together.

Surprisingly, Gaara was the one that caught everyone's attention. His uninterested look turned into one of annoyance . Temari got frightened. Kankurou and Lee continued what they were doing. "Lee-kun, that's sad if the squirel hurt you more than kicking a trunk all day," Gaara scolded pitifully. Lee immediately stopped bawling and gazed up at Gaara. He slumped his shoulders in shame. "And Kankurou," Gaara commanded, "Stop laughing. It's annoying." Kankurou paused his laughing and realized who had just scolded him. He shivered inwardly and immediately got serious.

"Yes, Gaara-san," Lee replied, regaining his enthusiasm. "Let's get this tour on the road!" he exclaimed, walkng down the hard path once again. The four kept walking as Lee pointed out all the houses and places he knew, which was basically...rambling. "That's Jessica's house. She has the cutest turtles in the world!" he said facing the siblings. He was walking backwards, his index finger of his 'hurt' hand pointing toward a small reddish-brown house. His finger moved to another house, a large, dark brown house. "That's Aaron's house. He always loses to me at video games," he gloated proudly.

A few hours went by with Lee pointing out strange things, Temari and Kankurou not listening, and Gaara sight seeing, mostly. They went through a forest where Lee talked about every animal he saw. As they were about to exit the forest, they stopped abruptly at a huge manor. The gate sign read 'Hyuuga Manor'. The sand shinobi stared in disbelief, except for Gaara, who barely widened his eyes--barely. "That there is where Neji lives. He's so lucky!" Lee cried clasping his hands, closing his eyes, bending over slightly, and wiggling all over. Gaara walked over and pressed the button for the intercom.

"Yes?" a timid voice asked softly. 

"This is Gaara and his siblings," Gaara answered in monotone, "And Lee."

"Gaara-kun, hold on. I'll open the gate," the shy voice replied. The gate opened slowly as a girl came running towards the guests. The girl had short violet hair and pupil-less pale violet eyes.

"HINATA-SAN!" Lee yelled waving frantically at the running girl. She finally arrived in front of them and bowed politely.

"Lee-san, how are you?" she asked sweetly, a small smile gracing her lips. 

"Great," he responded warmly. He stepped aside to show the three standing behind him, "Gaara-san and his siblings are here to visit," he explained. "And I'm giving them a tour," he added proudly. Just then a shadowy figure appeared in the distance.

It came closer and closer until the figure was standing right behind the girl, "Hinata-sama," the manly voice began. "Hiashi-sama wishes to see you," he finished emotionless.

"NEJI, GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE! DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM A FIGHT!" a voice screamed in the backround. 

"I thought Tenten-chan already left," Hinata stated thoughtfully. "Thank you very much, Neji-niisan," she bowed to him and everyone else, then made her way back to the building. 

The person with the bellowing voice sprinted up to the group and stopped. Panting hard from the run, she fell down on the ground and sat Indian style. She looked up at everyone and blushed softly, as realization dawned on her. "Heh, my bad. Sorry," she said innocently to the guests. She turned her head to Neji. "Neji, what the hell are you doing?" she asked rather rudely.

"Well, if it isn't the little weakling," Temari teased, stepping forward to face Tenten.

The brunette stood up quickly, glaring daggers at the fan wielder, "Well, if it isn't Miss Fan-girl," she shot back. Temari pulled out her fan and swung it at the weapons mistress. The fan cut only the air. Temari was depressed as she realized her quickness was still slower than that of the so-called genius. Neji had pulled Tenten back right before Temari pulled open her weapon. Only Lee and Gaara had witnessed it. 

"Tenten, don't fight," Neji ordered, still holding a firm grasp on both of her wrists. She muttered a 'Fine' and he let go, "Tenten, I think you better leave now," he suggested calmly.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," she replied dully. She started walking away when she ran back and stopped in front of Neji. "Ahem," she started. She stuck her hand out, her palm facing toward the sky. "My ponytails, please," she added. 

Neji's cheeks held a tint of pink in them as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two purple, elastic ponytails that shimmered in the sun. "Here." He placed the objects in her hands and blushed as she grabbed his hand suddenly.

She flopped his hand over and shook his arm, making a one-sided handshake. "Nice doing business with you," she said sarcastically. She let go of his hand and let out a small chuckle at his blushing face. "See you tomorrow," she stated, winking at him. She just wanted to embarrass him. "Goodbye, Neji. Goodbye, Lee," she cried, running off. Then shouted, "Bye guys!" before vanishing from sight.

Temari was still sad at the thought of Neji beating her at speed, Kankurou was laughing his butt off at the blushing Neji, Lee was giving his 'good guy' pose at Neji, and Gaara was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, deep in thought.

"What the hell was that?" Kankurou asked between chuckles.

"N-Nothing," Neji stuttered. "Goodbye," he added as he walked away from the group, closing the gate behind him. The four just stood there staring at the closed gate.

"Well, let's keep going," Lee shouted enthusiastically, "ONWARD!" he yelled pointing into the distance.

The three followed him without hesitation, for some reason they didn't want to stay there. They walked for a few more moments before Lee spotted what he thought was important. "Awwww, look at that," he murmured. "The ants are such hard workers!" By now he was kneeling down watching red fire ants construct their homes.

Temari lost her patience with the nutcase. "Who cares about stupid ants, or the trees, or other stupid animals, or houses you've been to, or dead bees lying on the ground? I'll tell ya! NO ONE! NO ONE FREAKIN' CARES ABOUT ANYTHING YOU'RE SAYING! SO JUST SHUT UP WITH YOUR STUPID THINGS AND GIVE US A REAL TOUR!" she shrieked madly. Lee made huge, chibi eyes that looked like they were about to start a rainstorm. He fell on his butt and hugged his knees tightly. Temari gritted her teeth, trying not to yell anymore, but failed miserably, "CAN YA GIVE US A REAL TOUR NOW? ONE THAT ACTUALLY TELLS US THINGS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT KONOHA, INSTEAD OF POINTING OUT AUTUMN BUSHES? CAN YOU ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING RIGHT IN YOUR LIFE?" That struck a nerve in Lee's body. He backed away slightly and shivered. "YOU CAN'T DO IT, CAN YOU? WHY THE HELL DID WE EVEN AGREE ON GOING ON THIS STUPID TOUR WITH SOMEONE AS--"

"Temari, shut up."

Both Lee and Temari turned their heads to see who had interrupted. 

Temari, without even thinking, blew her temper again, "DON'T FREAKIN' TELL ME TO SHut...up." She lowered her voice when she noticed who she was yelling at--Gaara.

"Temari, shut up," Gaara repeated. He had no annoyance in his voice, just frustration and agitation. Kankurou just stood there watching the whole thing, not wanting to join in.

"I'm sorry, Lee," she apologized while eyeing her brother and now regretting what she had said.

"Hey, no prob," he answered, quickly standing up and continuing to walk forward. They didn't make it very far when they heard a crash up ahead. They all bolted in the direction it came from. They saw Naruto and Sasuke right outside Naruto's apartment. Naruto was up against a wall and Sasuke had his Sharingan activated. The two didn't notice their audience, so the four decided to watch.

Naruto wiped away some blood trickling down his mouth. He spit out a clot of blood off to the side before attempting to talk. "What the hell, Sasuke-teme?" he asked confused.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" the raven-haired boy asked with his bloodline still activated.

"Because you would've done this!" the blonde exclaimed

"No, I wouldn't have! You could've just told me!"

"Hello, Sasuke-teme, it's called fear! Ever heard of it?"

"What the hell did you have to be afraid of?" Sasuke asked deactivating his Sharingan limit

"You," the future Rokudaime stated simply.

"Yeah, sorry," the Uchiha heir muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his head with a huff.

"YAY! Sasuke-teme still loves me!" The energetic blonde ran over to the other and gave him a huge hug making Sasuke flush from embarrassment.

Kankurou was doing his best to hold his laughter and everyone else was trying to help him stay quiet too. Temari was digusted at the thought of boylove, Lee thought it was really cute, and Gaara was mildly interested. He kept watching.

Sasuke raised his hands and gently rubbed his lover's back, a small smile tugging at his lips.

The puppet master just couldn't hold it in. He started rolling on the ground from laughing so hard. Naruto and Sasuke turned their heads to see the four standing there just staring at them.

"GOOD FOR YOU! THE POWER OF LOVE ALWAYS COMES WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Lee yelled doing his 'good guy' pose

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna puke," Temari warned everyone as her face turned green and she vomited to the left of her. Unfortunately, someone was standing there. That someone was Gaara.

"I am so sorry, Gaara," Temari said nervously.

Lee stared at the vomit-covered Gaara, while Kankurou howled with even more laughter-if that's even possible. Naruto and Sasuke chuckled along side Kankurou.

Gaara looked down at his outfit which was covered in a greenish substance with chunks of food here and there. He frowned unhappily.

"Ahh, Gaara-san, let's go back to my house early, and clean that up," Lee offered. Gaara nodded. Temari smiled nervously while Kankurou continued to laugh.

"Kankurou, shut the hell up or else," Gaara threatened angerly. The brother immediately shut up and ran to catch up.

They rushed back to Lee's house, passing by villagers who gave disapproving looks. They reached Lee's home at last. It was a one-story white house with a little more space than an apartment. They all stepped in after he opened the door. Gaara was about to walk in when Lee stopped him, "You can't come in here like that. Take off your clothes and throw them over that fence," he motioned his hand to a wooden fence on the side of his house. Gaara nodded bitterly.

The Shukaku vessel took off his gourd, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, bandages(around the legs), and sashes. He was left only in his boxers which were a dark red with no designs on them. He threw the dirty clothes over the fence and walked into the house. The taijutsu master closed the door and put the key away. "Make yourself at home," he said happily. His house was clean and organized, so unlike what people thought it would be. The walls were a dark forest green and the ceilings a bright lime green with a border at the top going all the way through the house with turtle pictures on it. There was a kitchen that connected to the living room, where the television was, and a hall that went down to the back rooms. The back rooms were just the bedrooms, bathroom, laundry room, and storage room.

Kankurou sat on the couch and flipped on the television, trying to find a good channel. Temari sat next to him, having a nervous breakdown thinking about what Gaara could do to her. Lee beckoned Gaara to follow him into the back rooms. He entered one of the bedrooms with Gaara hot on his heels. Rock Lee rummaged through the dresser in hope of finding clothes. He pulled out a short-sleeved, blue shirt with the Konoha emblem on the back in red and some dark jeans. He also pulled out a pair of boxers, this one black with white inprints of dragonflies. Lee shoved them into Gaara's hands and exited the room. Gaara followed Lee, unsure of what to do, which was good, because Lee wanted Gaara to follow him. Lee opened the bathroom door wide so Gaara could step around him. When they were both in the room he left the door open not bothering to close it.

Lee walked over to the shower and/or bathtub and Gaara walked up next to him. "You turn this knob to change the force of the water," he indicated a knob on the left side of showerhead. "And this knob," he indicated the knob on the opposite side of the showerhead, "changes the tempature; right for colder and left for warmer," Lee explained. He kneeled down and pointed at the bottles. At the first bottle he said, "This is the Shampoo," on the next bottle, "This is the Conditioner," and at the last bottle,"And this is the body wash." Standing up, he walked towards the door. At the side of the door hung a towel. He held it and said, "You can use this when you get out." He walked to just outside the room. He grabbed the knob of the door and pulled it. "Take a good shower," he ordered before closing the door all the way.

Gaara undressed, placed the new clothes by the sink, and stepped into the shower area. He followed all the directions from Lee and took a good, healthy shower.

Lee walked back to where Temari and Kankurou were and shot a glance their way. They were just sitting there watching some cartoon.

He walked outside with a plastic bag and found Gaara's vomit covered clothes. He picked them up, put them in the bag, walked back to the house, plugging his nose, just in case. He made his way to the laundry room and took the clothes out of the dryer and folded them. The boy then took the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer, emptied the plastic bag with Gaara's clothes in the washer and started the load. He started the dryer too, that way it was done when the washer was done. He took the folded clothes and went to the bedrooms and placed the clean clothes in their correct places. After finishing that he heard the shower turn off and suspected Gaara was finished. Before Gaara was dressed Lee had to ask his siblings something.

He walked over to the two couch potatoes and asked very quietly, "Who's sleeping with who?"

"I'm not sleeping in the same room with Gaara," they both replied in unison.

The hard worker thought for a moment. "Hmmmm...How about this? You two sleep in one room, he'll sleep in one room, and I'll be on the couch?" he suggested.

"Okay, sure," they answered with a shrug of their shoulders.

"Good then," he responded happily. Just then Gaara entered the room. The shirt fit him well, being a bit loose so it wasn't too tight, the jeans were a bit baggy, flopping down a bit showing the top of his boxers, and his hair wet and loose unlike the usually spikey style. He pulled up his pants and pulled his shirt over his pants to cover up his waist.

Temari was gaping like a fish out of water and Kankurou just stared wide-eyed. Lee smile widely while his teeth 'ping'ed.

"You look great Gaara-san!" Lee exclaimed happily. Gaara blushed a little from his first compliment, unless being called a monster is a compliment. "You're clothes are in the wash so if you wa-" 

Lee was cut off. "Why don't you wear anything but that spandex suit?" Gaara asked curiously. The boy in question put his thumb and index finger at the bottom of his chin and thought long and hard. After a time of thinking, he just shrugged.

Just as Gaara was gonna say something Kankurou chimed in, actually more like Kankurou's stomach. The puppet master's stomach growled from hunger and Lee looked over at the clock. It read 3:47 P.M. "I'm sorry. You guys want take-out ramen?" the host asked

The blonde and brunette replied with a brief, "Sure," as Gaara simply nodded. Lee called a ramen restaurant and ordered ramen for everyone; Kankurou had Beef flavor while Temari had Miso flavor. Gaara ordered Oriental flvaor and Lee got himself a bowl of Shrimp flavored ramen. Thirty minutes of waiting passed by with the four watching television. Suddenly the sound of knocking was heard. Lee whizzed to the door and opened it at high speed, somehow having people over made him more hyper. He payed the take-out driver the total along with an average tip. Closing the door, he placed the bowls on the counter, just as the washer went off, followed by the dryer.

"Here you go, guys," he called out walking to the back rooms. They each grabed their ramen, broke their chopsticks, and began eating. 

"Thank you for the meal," they each stated before digging into their steaming lunch/dinner. Once they were finished they placed their bowls by the sink and sat down to watch television again.

Lee walked in and grabbed his own ramen, doing the same things they did. As the siblings watched television, once and a while conversing with each other, Lee ate loudly. After eating all his noodles he loudly slurped the broth, annoying everyone else in the household. "SHUT UP!" Kankurou yelled at Lee while Temari glared. Gaara kept his eyes on the television screen and didn't bother to join in.

Lee finally ate the last of his ramen and placed the dish by the others. He glanced toward the clock and this time it read 5:02. He didn't think had been that long. Either way he would ask what they wanted to do. "We can stay here or do you want to finish the tour?"

"Hmmm...how 'bout we just stay here?" Temari answered. Her brother, Kankurou, nodded in agreement.

"Whatever," Gaara mumbled, his eyes still glued to the television screen. 

"Well...you can change into some pajamas then. Hold on," Lee said thoughtfully, running away from the group. He came back in a few minutes holding three pairs of pajamas. He had the siblings get off the couch and laid the outfits on it.

The first was a giant T-shirt with some knee-length shorts. The second was black shorts that would cover your knees and a short-sleeved deep red top that would land just over the waist. The last outfit out had a dark brown tank top with a pair a pants that had coyote imprints. "Pick your choice," Lee explained seeing their confused faces. Kankurou, falling head over heels for the coyote prints, grabbed them without a second thought and hugged them tightly. Temari stepped up and grabbed the big T-shirt and shorts. Gaara, rolling his eyes, from his brother's actions walked forward and grabbed the last outfit available.

"What are you going to wear?" Temari questioned curiously.

"Oh, I have my own," he zipped to the bedroom, leaving them to stare to where they thought he was. Three minutes passed and he finally walked back to them. His pajama pants had small kittens with huge eyes all over the fabric It was just adorable. His top had sleeves ending just before the elbows and pictures of kittens were everywhere, all in different positions. You could tell his favorite animals were turtles and kittens. Temari gasped at the outfit; one, because the pictures were sooo cute; two, because she had never seen Lee wear anything but that spandex. 

"CUTE!" she shrieked running up to him and pulling on the thin fabric. Noticing she could rip it she stopped tugging. Kankurou huffed and Gaara... Gaara already was watching the television again.

They all settled themselves on the comfy couch. Lee had also given them blankets to cover themselves. They decided on watching a movie. They thought a horror movie with some action was perfect. So they choose 'The Boogeyman'. They all thought it looked interesting, with the exception of Gaara.

Just as the main character in the movie, was going to open the door to get his girlfriend's coat, the doorbell rang. Everyone jumped, including Gaara, but his jump was so small it went unnoticed. The popcorn Lee had made went flying up into the air, only to land on almost everything in the room, mostly them.

Lee paused the movie, got off the couch, and made his way to the door. Slowly, his hand got closer and closer to the doorknob, until it was on top of it. His grip tightened as he turned the knob. Squinting his eyes and taking deep breaths, he opened the door. There, in his doorway, at 6 o'clock at night was...


	3. The Date

**Pickles  
kawaiichiisaikitsune(blackharu2)**

**Disclaimer:  
**Me: Can you hear me now?  
Person on the line: Yes.  
Me: Good.  
Person on the line: Okay?  
Me: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!  
Person on the line: AAAHHHHHH MY EARS!  
Me: Ha ha ha ha ha, now you know! -hangs up-  
Person on line: Freak.  
Me: I HEARD THAT!  
Person on the line: AAHHHHH -hangs up-  
Me: Ha ha ha! I am soooo good -continues bragging- Oh yeah! -hangs up again-

**A/N: Hoped you liked my wonderful little skit. I thought it was hilarious! I'm trying to get at least 2 reviews per chapter now, so please help me out and review! It would mean a lot to me! I might take a while to update later chapters, because of school, but I'll try my best, if you review! MWA HA HA HA! What was that? How odd. Anywayz, knock yourself out with this new chappie!**

**:-:-:-:Review Replies:-:-:-:**

**blue leafy-- **Thank you so much! Sorry about the bad English stuff. English is worst subject, but I love to write. Thanks again for your review and I hope you like this chapter.  
**DarkvsLight-- **Gaara is so hott, ne! I went crazy making that shower scene. I hope this is enough fluff for you. I thought it was kawaii! Thanks for reviewing and reading.  
**Harbringe-- **Uh, thank you?  
**Flame-Kunoichi-- **OMG! Thank you so much! If Gaara made dopplegangers I'll let you have half and the rest are mine! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Gomen nasai, my bad. Thanks for the cookie. Here's a brownie. -hands Flame-Kunoichi a brownie- I made it from Devil's Food cake mix. Heeheehee! Well I hope you like this chapter and hope you review again.

Chapter 3: The Date

"Good to see you, Lee-kun," a very bubbly girl greeted him.

"Oi, good to see you too, Sakura-san," Lee replied, opening the door wider for her to step in. The pink headed kunoichi cautiously walked in. She cowered slightly when she noticed Gaara in the room. After she was fully inside the house, the taijutsu master closed the door.

He walked over to her side and put a welcoming hand on her shoulder. "What brings you here?" he asked politely. She turned her head to face his gaze. Sakura remembered what she had come here for. She bowed her head in embarrassment and played with her fingers, somewhat like Hinata did. She drew imaginary circles on the ground with her toes.

"Um..." She started, blushing deeply, "I wanted to know-" a pause as she took a long breath "-if you'd like to go out..." 

Before she could finish, Lee screamed in joy. "YAY! OF COURSE I WILL, SAKURA-SAN!"

Sakura smiled at the restless boy who was jumping up and down in happiness. She bowed her head again, this time in thanks. "Thank you Lee-kun." Suddenly, something pulled her attention over to the sand shinobi siblings. Temari and Kankurou were just staring, slightly uninterested, but Gaara, Gaara was glaring at her. And with such strong intensity that she began fidgeting. "Lee-kun," she turned to him, "Would you.. would you like to go for a walk?" 

"Do you want to stay here and finish the movie with us?" Lee suggested, settling down slightly. She rotated her head in the direction of his guests, her pink locks whipping around from her movements. Temari and Kankurou weren't looking at Lee or her anymore, they were looking at their brother who appeared to be growling. The Shukaku vessel's turquoise eyes were glaring at her own emerald orbs, the harshness of his glare made her extremely uncomfortable. 

"Actually, Lee-kun, I'd rather go for a walk," she concluded slowly, looking away from Gaara.

Lee stuck his hand out, his index and middle finger making a 'V' for Victory. Putting his arm down he walked over to the sand siblings. Gaara looked at him and the sand shinobi's gaze softened. The other two siblings were staring in disbelief at their brother's actions. "You guys okay with this?" the host questioned rather quietly. The puppet master shrugged, as did the fan weilder. The insomniac answered with a grunt that caught Lee's attention. That grunt wasn't a "whatever" grunt or a "just leave me alone" grunt; it was a very mad grunt. The young genin, however, couldn't decipher what the other boy meant.

"Gaara-san, are you okay?" Rock Lee asked timidly. He didn't want to upset his friend. Gaara, noticing what he was doing, quickly replaced his scowl with a stoic look and 'Hn'ed at the naive boy's question. Seeing the change in emotion, Gai's replica sighed in defeat. He never knew how to read Gaara.

Sakura was becoming more scared She knew all those glares and growls were directed at her and only her. "I can come back later," she offered. Lee shook his head rather hard and walked to her.

"No, no, it's fine," he assured, grabbing her hand and walking out the door saying a simple "See you later!" to the guests. 

Once he was completely gone, Kankurou and Temari looked at their younger sibling. "What is up with you?" Kankurou questioned carefully, not trying to start a fight. Gaara said nothing. The only thing leaving his mouth was a small grunt. "Why were you growling and glaring?" Kankurou tried again, only to fail once more. He needed a line to make Gaara reply, but not get Gaara angry. "Are you jealous or something?" He honestly didn't think Gaara was homosexual, but he knew Gaara would respond to that.

'Am I jealous?' Gaara's mind asked, 'Why was I so mad at her? Why did I feel like Lee betrayed me? Why do I care?' He questioned himself over and over again. No answers were found and only new questions were arriving. He couldn't understand any of this. Curiousity struck. "What is jealousy?"

Temari and Kankurou just stared at him, wide-eyed. He didn't just ask that. "Well... It's when..." Temaru started explaining, but paused and took some time thinking of the correct definition. None came to mind and she never really experienced it. "Umm.. It's when.. you get mad at someone for having something you don't." Seeing his confused face she tried to describe it better, "Normally jealousy is toward people, but envy means basically the same thing," she concluded thoughtfully.

Gaara was still very confused. "Jealousy is the painful suspicion of the faithfulness of husband, wife, or lover, " Kankurou said with much intelligence. He saw both of their eyes widen and their eyebrows rise. "What?" he asked defensively.

Temari just shook her head. Gaara thought over the whole conversation and suddenly bubbled with rage. "You think I'm... Gay?" he questioned, shocked at his brother's defnitions. 'I'm not gay, I don't like Lee that way! Do I? NO, I DON'T! But, seriously, do I?'

'I don't care, now shut the hell up! I'm trying to take a nap!' Shukaku yelled mentally to him.

'You shut up you damn racoon! Let me think in peace!' 

'Stop shouting then! I don't give a damn if you like that guy or not. Just leave me alone!'

'But I don't like that guy! Or do I? No, I don't, do I?'

'ARRRGGGHHH, YOU ASSHOLE! YOU LIKE THIS GUY, OKAY? NOW LET. ME. SLEEP!'

'Fine you selfish racoon!' Gaara fought with the demon inside him for quite a while. 

"Gaara?" a voice asked, scared. It was Kankurou. The question brought him out of his thoughts and his face became emotionless. "Temari and I are gonna go to sleep now. You should rest too." Gaara nodded without thinking. The two left to their room and were gone from Gaara's sight. A few minutes later he heard the water running, a sign that showed they were brushing their teeth. 

The sand shinobi sat on the couch and placed his legs in front of him, hugging them close. Grabbing the remote, he pressed play and watched the rest of the movie, bored.

:-:-:-:Lee and Sakura's Walk:-:-:-:

Lee bounced along happily with Sakura at his side. He was completely excited about this walk. It was practically a date! He glanced over to her every now and again, just to make sure she was still by his side. There were times when people ran from him. He wasn't sure why people would do that. Gai-sensei told him that it was just the spirit of youth that Lee regenerated into people and they'd run off with youthfullness. Lee, of course, believed him.

Sakura grinned at the boy when she caught him glancing at her. Hesitantly, the pink headed kunoichi grabbed Lee's bandaged hand. She smiled widely when he looked over at her, a surprised, but happy, look on his face. After a second, the pajama clad shinobi grinned madly and gripped her hand in return.

The two Konoha ninjas continued their moon-light walk, idly going towards the park. Silence was all that was heard, but it was a very comfortable silence. They both knew the other well. They loved each other. At least, so they both thought.

Suddenly Sakura tugged at her companion's hand, stopping him from continuing the walk. "Could we sit down, perhaps?" she questioned quietly, motioning to the wooden bench situated nearby the sandy park. Upon seeing him nod acceptingly, she gently pulled him over to the bench where they both sat down. Their hands became unclasped from each other's. Both were quiet, idly wondering what they were suppose to say.

"Lee-kun?" The pink headed girl spoke up, looking at him from the corners of her emerald eyes.

"Yes?" Lee answered, giving her his full attention.

"I was thinking. Since.. since there is no more Sasuke-kun.." She paused, embarrassed and angry at once, "And you've always.. Well.. Um.. Would you like to be my boyf-friend?"

The pajama clad boy sat dumbfounded for a couple of seconds before shooting up from his seat, cheering for himself. After another second or so, he settled himself back down on the bench and grinned madly at the girl. "Of course, Sakura-san!"

She smiled back. Then she started leaning towards him, eyes closed and lips slightly puckered. Lee, seeing this wonderful opportunity for him, began leaning in as well. Slowly he closed his eyes as the two of them inched closer together.

Suddenly, behind his closed lids, he saw something he never expected. Something that shocked him, yet intrigued him. There was Gaara. His arms crossed arrogantly against his chest, aqua green eyes staring emotionlessly, yet filled with emotion. He had his normal garments on, though no gourd strapped to his back and on his lips sat a depressed smirk. Yet, as Lee watched the image carefully, the smirk slowly turned into a genuine smile and his eyes twinkled with unnatural emotion.

Lee grinned at the picture in his head, not realizing where he was at the moment. It didn't matter though, did it? Gaara was on his mind and nothing could make him happier. Then, the taijutsu master suddenly realized where he was and snapped open his dark eyes. He quickly stopped himself from reaching the kunoichi who was still nearing him. He picked up his hands and placed them upon her shoulders, stopping her movement and making her open her eyes.

"Lee-kun?" She began, confused, "What's wrong?"

He just shook his head furiously. "I can't," he said, standing up from the bench, "I must go Sakura-san. Forgive me!" And then he ran off, leaving Sakura sitting alone at the park, completely confused.

She contemplated on what just happened and quickly realized what was going on. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she stood up and ran after Lee, who was already out of sight.

:-:-:-:Lee's House:-:-:-:

Gaara stared blankly at the screen before him. The movie was interesting, yet he was bored. His mind wandered to different things, mainly Lee and... Sakura. He vaguely pictured them walking, but wouldn't read into his own thoughts too far. Shaking his head in hopes to forget about them, he glued his turquoise eyes back to the colorful screen.

BAM! He watched as the young woman was hit against the bedroom furniture, the man walking towards her, inspecting his surroundings carefully. His mind drifted off again, however, not to Lee or Sakura, but rather to his childhood.. The Shukaku vessel finally glanced back at the movie where the man was sitting in a chair, in front of a closet. The man's arms were tied securely to the chair and the wooden seat was nailed to the ground. Closing his eyes the man began to count, slowly and hesitantly, "1... 2... 3... 4... 5..." Music was heard in the background throughout the scene. The main character's eyes suddenly opened as he said the final number, "6." Gaara saw him tightening the grip on the arm rests. The door came flying open as a monster came out...

Knock Knock Knock

The red head paused the movie, somewhat relieved, and lifted himself off the sofa. He walked stiffly to the door and opened the thin door without a second thought.

"Oh, Gaara, do you know where Lee-kun is?" the man on the welcoming mat asked joyfully.

"Not exactly," the sand user replied dully.

"How do you mean?" the man questioned curiously.

"He's with... Sakura, and they are... taking a walk," he answered monotone, with the exceptions of angier tones here and there. He growled deep in his throat and crossed his arms arrogantly over his chest.

"Oh, well, thank you anyway! MAY THE POWER OF YOUTH BE WITH YOU!" no other than Gai said enthusiastically. Gaara proceeded to close the door when they both heard a shout in the distance. Gai visibly shivered, thinking immediately it was a ghost, his other eternal rival. The jounin spun around so fast he almost tripped over his own feet and looked out into the distance. The other boy rolled his eyes and stepped outside. He was greeted by the cold wind hitting against his sand-armored body.

Gai went about his shivering and rambling as the unknown figure approached them. Gaara looked boringly out in the distance, upon seeing nothing unusual he walked back inside. "Can I come in too?" He heard a voice from behind him. No doubt it was Gai and no matter how much that guy got on his nerves he couldn't leave him out there. Wait... Yes he could.

"No," He replied sternly, slamming the door behind him. The Shukaku vessel made his way to the kitchen where he went to the refridgerator and opened it. He looked through all the items and decided something labeled "Dill Pickles" sounded most interesting. He grabbed it, placed it on the marble counter behind him, and closed the refridgerator door. He put a smooth hand on the jar and the other on the lid and twisted and pulled and did all sorts of things. However, the jar wouldn't budge. He glared at the glass jar and the long green things inside it. He wondered what they tasted like, but he couldn't grasp any significant flavor.

Clawing was heard on the door and loud, demanding pleads followed, "Let me in! It's coming closer! AAHHH! LET ME IN!" Gaara chose to keep him outside and proceeded to open that devil of a jar. After trying over and over again, without success, he finally rested upon the idea of having that baffoon do it. He neared the front door and when he reached it, he opened it with as much ease as the first time. He wasn't at all effected by the movie he was watching merely minutes ago.

He saw Lee's sensei crying tears of relief and Lee sitting cross-legged, catching his breath. He looked past them to the background of wildlife and houses and long dirt paths, not to mention a girl running in their direction. She was yelling and waving her arms frantically and she had... pink hair.

"Lee-kun, you went on a date with Sakura? How did it go? I'm so proud of you!" Gai commented.

"Yes, I did," A pause from Lee and a grunt from Gaara, "She asked me to be her boyfriend." he admitted this easily. "I agreed," A light growl was heard from Gaara and both Gai and his younger version glanced over at him with confused looks. He continued nonetheless, "We were about to kiss-" Silent cheering came from Gai and even more growling from Gaara. "-but.. I saw something in my head and didn't want to go through with it. So I told Sakura-san I couldn't and apologized," he finished half-heartedly. He always liked Sakura and he always dreamed to be her boyfriend and to kiss her. But, when he got the chance, he let it go--and what for? No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find something he gained. Nothing at all.

Gai persisted further though. "What did you see? Was it important? What was it?.. Or who was it?" were his main questions.

The taijutsu master thought thoroughly, each question making its appearance one after another. He replied to his sensei, though vaguely, "It was a person; very important, and hopefully very close.." Nothing was really told in that statement, not even the gender was revealed. Gai let out a long, exasperated sigh and shook his head disapprovingly.

"I should go," the jumpsuit clad man began. "Bye!" he added, walking away. He held up a hand and waved a whole-hearted goodbye. "May the power of youth be with you!" was the last phrase out of his mouth. He didn't even notice the familiar person jolting pass him.

The kunoichi ran a little farther before screaming at the top of her lungs, "LEE-KUN!" and speeding up into her fastest sprint. A fast thirty seconds passed as she started to feel light-headed, however, she was standing right in front of Lee now. "Thank goodness. I thought maybe something bad happened," she replied, putting a hand to her racing heart. She thought back on the previous events. "Why did you leave?" she asked sadly.

"I.. don't know, sorry," Lee replied, ashamed of his earlier actions. 

She took a small step forward and clasped her hands in front of her chest. "What are you saying? You don't want to be my boyfriend anymore?" She put on her "cutest" face and stared straight into his eyes. When Gaara took a small glance at her his insides felt as though they were being crumpled like a thin piece of paper.

Lee gazed back into her emerald eyes and shook his head slowly, softly repeating his previous statement, "I'm sorry, Sakura-san." He was depressed deeply when he noticed what exactly he was doing. He was just about to protest when that same picture of Gaara swarmed his head. He couldn't help but grin widely at the sight. He closed his eyes and took a simple step forward, that same grin covering his face. Sakura had no clue what he was doing and Gaara watched mildly interested. The kunoichi stared at him confused, then lightly pecked him on the lips, smiling broadly. His charcoal eyes shot open, surprised and scared when he realized what just happened.

The sand shinobi watched the whole thing and pure anger boiled in the pit of his stomach. Reacting on his emotions, his sand burst out from his gourd and wrapped itself around the girl's neck. Easily, the sand picked her up and her only reaction was to throw her hands to her neck and furiously pull away at the sand. She continued ripping bits of sand away, however, there was too much. A faint mumble left her lips, "Need... air... please... I don't... want to... die... air!" She battled against herself for consciousness.

The taijutsu master ran over to his guest and frantically pleaded him to stop. Eventually, the sand disappeared back into his gourd, and the pink headed girl fell to the ground. She stood up and showed her face. She held nothing but hatred and resentment towards the insomniac. Pointing an accusing finger at him she yelled the first words that formed in her mouth, "Stupid monster! I hope you die!" She spun around and fled. She left so fast no other sentences could be exclaimed. No words would reach her ears.

Lee looked to his side where his guest stood. The young genin watched the Shukaku vessel shiver repeatedly. The host walked over to him and gazed down at his face and saw his eyes close tighter and tighter, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"Let's go inside," Lee offered, backing away slightly. The red head's eyes shot open as he looked towards the other boy. He hesitantly nodded and followed the homeowner into the house. Upon entering, they closed the door behind them and walked through rooms. When they passed by the kitchen Gaara glanced in and remembered the jar. He stopped and walked into the clean and organized room and picked up the all too familiar container.

The replica of Gai realized there was nobody following him anymore and turned around, peering into every room he passed in search of his friend. He noticed Gaara in the kitchen, hovering over a pickle jar and glaring at it harshly. Lee walked up to him and looked at him curiously. He lifted up the jar with one hand and watched as Gaara's eyes stayed in contact with the glass. The sand user finally discovered that someone was holding the jar and his light turquoise eyes met dark black orbs. Lee settled the glass back upon the counter and kept eye contact with Gaara. 

"Can you.. Open it?" The Shukaku vessel mumbled quite embarrassed. He watched as the other boy looked at him in disbelief. Then the taijutsu master let a small chuckle leave his mouth.


	4. Nighttime Talk

**Pickles**

**kawaiichiisaikitsune(blackharu2)**

Disclaimer:  
Me: Can you hear me now?  
Person on the line: Yes.  
Me: Good.  
Person on the line: Okay?  
Me: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!  
Person on the line: AAAHHHHHH MY EARS!  
Me: Ha ha ha ha ha, now you know! -hangs up-  
Person on line: Freak.  
Me: I HEARD THAT!  
Person on the line: AAHHHHH -hangs up-

**A/N: Wow, this is the most reviews I have gotten in all my stories for just one chapter! Thankies to you guys! This chapter and all the ones to follow are dedicated to me reviews, my friends, and my beta reader! Enjoy!**

**:--:--:--:Review Replies:--:--:--:(someone tell me if I'm allowed to do this -sweatdrop-)**

**Flame-Kunoichi-- **Sankyuu! I'm glad you think it's funny, that makes me happy! I didn't mean to bash Sakura, 'cause she's okay (just gets on my nerves) but after I was told I was bashing her I'm all, "I was?" So, thatnkies for the review and is the brownie any good?  
**DarkvsLight-- **I know, I felt sooooo bad typing that, since I love Gaara sooooo much! If you want GaaLee fluff I'm trying to get a lot in on this chappie. I mean seriously, if there's a pickle jar, there's a way!  
**Kiki and Machigai (anon)**-- I'm a huge fan too! I'm soooo obsessed, yet I know how to share. Don't hate Lee, he's such a cute ass (line from DarkvsLight) and sooo adorable! And isn't Gaara is always sexy, hell yeah!  
**RockLeeda**-- lol gomen gomen, I'll try to make up for doing that!  
**Ehwinn (anon)**-- Thankies, you don't know how much that means to me! I'm sorry I took so long updating, it's just school is soooo evil! I always try to make my chappies funy, 'cause humor rox my sox!  
**ariel (anon)**-- Ok, ok, I'll try. You'll see if they love each other or not later on, and I'm afraid one of the last few is going to be sad yet happy. Thankies, I love your compliments soooooo nice!  
**bound-2-be-love**-- lol, yup, yup, sooooo sad (I say) Thankies, but I think the power of youth should be with Temari in the chappie (hee hee)  
**Anime-Dudette**-- Of course, Gaara belongs with Lee. Thankies and I'm trying hard!  
**Hyuuga Yura (anon)**-- lol, -takes the kiss- Thankies!  
**Ky0Kichi**-- Let's hope, but I don't like pickles so we don't know if Gaara will. YAY! I'm someone's hero, cool!  
**Slover Pink**-- Thankies, I'll try to but I'm soo caught up in other junk and two secret sants things I am in, it's crazy! Thankies for the review!  
**Lahz**--Gomen, gomen! I just have this Japanese-English Dictionary and it's kind of old.-sweatdrop- I'm glad you like it, though. And Thankies for your review!

To all my reviews you get a choice of a piece of pie, chocolate chip cookies, or a double-chocolate brownie!

**This was edited by Kiari-san, enjoy!**

Chapter 4: Nighttime Talk

The taijutsu master continued gigglinguntil a very embarrassment and angered shinobi growled. Dripping of sweat from being frightened, Lee put on a wide grin and gave a thumbs up.

"Don't worry! I'll open this jar!" he exclaimed a little too loud. He set one of his bandaged hands on the glass body and the other on the lid. Forcefully he twisted and twisted and pulled and pulled.

The top wouldn't budge no matter what the young genin tried. He tried karate-chopping it, kicking it, throwing it, having Gaara pull it in a seperate direction, and he even tried telling it jokes (he said it would laugh open its lid). Gaara just rolled his eyes and watched as Lee made all kind of crazy noises attempting to take off the lid.

"ARGH!" a loud yell was heard as stomping came towards them. Shivers were sent up the two boys' spines. Temari boomed over to the taller shinobi and grabbed the pickle jar from his hands. Glaring and grunting harshly at the others she delicately turned the lid and off it popped. The Konoha ninja gawked in disbelief as the red-haired sibling barely lifted his eyebrows.

Lee pouted, "Just one more time and I would've had it!"

After the mad blonde went back to her makeshift room, Lee picked out two of the green things and placed each on a its own sheet of paper-towel. Gaara simply poked at the slimy vegetable before gingerly picking it up with one hand and biting a small portion of the large pickle. He glanced over at the taijutsu master and saw him digging in the jar once more for another one. The Shukaku vessel chewed unsurely and eventually swallowed, reluctantly.

The home owner saw him gulp it down and widened his eyes cheerfully, "Did you like it? Did you? Did you?" he asked like a little child requesting a lollipop.

"Ah...," Gaara of the Sand stumbled for words, "it was...interesting, yeah."

"Okay!" chirped the overly hyper Konohagakure citizen.

The young Kazekage nodded hesitantly and pushed the green vegetable aside. Soon enough the ebony-haired boy finished eating and cleaned up his small mess and put the jar back in the fridge. He spotted the redhead on the couch and the blue screen occupying the television screen. "Hey!" he cried excitedly, "Wanna watch another movie?"

The sand ninja turned slightly to look at the bouncing boy. "Uh..." he replied slowly, watching as Lee took up an almost pleading look. How could he resist. "Sure," he finished uncertainly.

Lee cried softly in joy as he made his way to his movie shelf and pulled out a random movie. "How about this one?" he gushed like an excited child, holding the movie box to the Shukaku vessel. The other took it, examining its colorful cover.

"Pinapple Boy and the Flying Pigs?" he questioned the leaf ninja disbelievingly.

"Yeah, it's about this boy who is a pinapple-boy living in Epplanip Town. He has to help the town from these attacking flying pigs who will kidnap you and hug and kiss you to death! It is such a sad movie," large pools of tears exited his charcoal eyes as his bottom lip quivered. Suddenly he brightened up and happily looked toward the other, "So you wanna watch it? PPPLLLLEEEAAAAASSSSEEEE!" he pleaded. His infamous puppy-dog face came into play and Gaara found himself unable to refuse the offer.

A exasperated sigh left the sand shinobi's lips, "Fine."

The DVD was put into the player and the title menu soon showed up. Lee selected the option "Play" and the movie began, eventually.

"Pinapple Boy, we need to help the banana sheep from the flying pigs!" yelled a minor character--named Philipinap--in the movie, Lee lipping the words. Gaara strained to keep his eyes open, but failed dramatically.

_Poke_, thought the ebony-haired boy, _I'm gonna poke you_. The leaf ninja poked the redhead until the other male began to stir. Incoherent mumbles escaped his pale lips as he lifted an arm to rub the sleep from his eyes. He came into a sitting position and adjusted his eyes to the new brightness.

"Huh?" he said groggily. The Shukaku vessle finally noticed Lee and spun his head quickly to look at the screen.

"Have a good nap, sleepy-Kazekage?" the taijutsu master asked playfully, "Did you like the movie?"

"Um...actually, I missed most of it," he replied truthfully.

"That's not a problem," Lee reached for the remote as a hand shot out at him and gently placed itself upon the other hand. Lee looked at Gaara, confusion and surprisement etched in his face, with a little tint of red appearing.

"I rather not."

"Then... Do you want another pickle?"

"NO! I mean-" Gaara lightly coughed, regaining his composure, "-not right now."

"Then, what?" his black hair flew as he tilted his head slightly.

"Can I ask you something?" a deep shade of crimson red made its way to the bridge of his nose.

"Sure! Ask anything!"

The Konoha genin looked directly into the Kazekage's pools of turqoise, and vise versa. They both blushed, but silently willed it away. Gaara suddenly averted his eyes and stared at the hard floor ground.

"Why did you say no?"

"Say no to what?"

"To... Sakura," input growl here.

"I...well, um... I just, ahhh, saw something, yup, I saw something,"

"Saw what?"

"Just, ah, something important."

"What was it?" Gaara grew impatient and softly grunted._ Why doesn't he tell me?_

"Just someone, um...close to me?" Lee replied sweatdropping slightly.

"Can't you tell me?" the almost depressed look on the red-head's face made Lee want to just kill himself, "If it's personal I understand, but do you not trust me?" By that line Lee just wanted to glomp the poor child.

"No, I'll tell, it's fine, " a strong arm made its way to the back of its owner's neck and scratched timidly.

"Sure," the usually stoic personality of the Shukaku vessel springed into action, unwanted.

"See it was a really good friend of mine," he stated. "I hope," he added as an after thought. "He's really important to me and I think--hope--he's my best friend."

"Do I know him?"

"Um...well, yeah, you should,"

"Just tell me already."

"Well, ano...I saw you," Lee said shyly, dropping his head in embarrassment.

Gaara was knocked speechless and couldn't find anything signifigant to say. "Whatever," popped out of his mouth first, and he instantly regretted it.

The black-haired ninja looked up sadly and seemed as though he was about to spill real tears. He stood up, Gaara copying, and found some blankets and put them on the couch, creating a makeshift bed.

"Well, I'm sleeping on the couch, you're in the bedroom," he yawned tiredly, he plastered a half-hearted smile on his face and said as cheerfully as he could, "Good night, don't let the bed-bugs bite."

Gaara walked to the end of the couch, where Lee's feet were, and watched him situate himself. His eyes squinted, his face unrelaxed, his breathing uneven.

_Damn, what's up with him, at least I talked to him right?_

_**Stupid brat, he said go to sleep!**_

_Shut up you damn racoon._

_**If only you went to sleep...**_

_I'm not stupid, bastard!_

_**Yeah, you say so.**_

_Shut the hell up, you damn racoon._

_**Why should I? Just go to sleep already!**_

_Yeah, like I'd do that,_ Gaara grunted and crossed his arms arrogantly.

**_I want control! I won't do anything to hurt your precious lover-boy, _**the shinobi blushed as the demon racoon smiled smugly.

_Just shut the hell up!_

Gaara, a faint crimson still coloring his face, hastily cut off the conversation with the demon inside and looked once again at the sleeping shinobi. This time though, every nerve of the body seemed to be relax. The eyes were no longer tightly closed, instead they were peacefully shut. His face looked pleasant; even happy. It was much better than the strained face, in which Gaara felt a tinge of remorse. The mulitude of covers over the slim body made the breathing look even, more so than before at least.

Silently and without a single noise, besides the gentle thudding of his feet, Gaara made his way over to the usually restless shinobi. Instictively, the boy rolled to his side, his back facing the sand sibling.

"Lee," he whispered, earning a illogical mumble from the said person. "Lee," he repeated, a more comforting tone in his voice. The body turned once again and laid on his back, face towards the ceiling.

"Lee," Gaara repeated tranquilly. Lee shifted and twitched, right away the redhead quieted down and watched the eyes twitch continuously. Soon enough it stopped and the peaceful presence of the figure showed itself.

A sandy hand found its way onto the other's face and cupped the flesh cheek. Lightly caressing it with a thumb, the ebony-haired boy found himself liking the feeling. He nudged into the petting and smiled happily.

"I'm sorry," the Shukaku vessel said, completely opposite of his normal attitude. "I didn't mean to hurt you." _Kami-sama, what am I doing? I just felt bad, that's all,_ he reassured himself.

The limp body flinched but the boy's hand did not move. "I'm really glad you think of me as a friend, you'd have to be my first, real, friend," thoughts of Yashamaru flooded his brain involuntarily. Sighing, he pushed those to the back of his mind. "Thank you."

_I still don't understand why he'd want to be a friend of mine anyways... Idiot, he's such an idiot, _the container sighed and cracked a small smirk.

Just then, eyelids flashed open to reveal charcoal colored orbs. These eyes were wide and held surprisement in them, mostly. The redhead looked embarrassed and rather scared, a rare sight to see, for him.

The usually calm, cool and collected persona washed over Gaara instantly, "How long?" he asked skeptically.

"How long what?" the other answered coming into a sitting position.

"How long were you awake? What did you hear?" inwardly the owner of the voice shivered.

"Since you apologized, why? I thought what you said was nice!" the boy replied ever so cheerily, a toothy grin plastered on his face. The Kazekage felt the heat rise in his cheeks. He refused to be seen like this and turned his head away, he couldn't bare to watch those innocent eyes.

"So... Can't sleep?" the ebony-haired shinobi inquired.

"Hm," he answered with a small upward jerk of his head. The other raised one of his bushy eyebrows and leaned to look closer at the redhead. The scrutiny of the paler boy lasted shortly as a lightbulb lit up over Lee's head, invisibly of course.

"Hey! Guess what!" he exclaimed.

A grunt escaped the container's lips, "What?"

"You have no eyebrows!"

"Huh?" Gaara responded dumbfounded. What an odd discovery. _Idiot, such an idiot, and I knew it_, he thought.

"Well, you have no eyebrows and people say I have huge ones!"

"You do."

"That's not the point," Lee sulked.

"Then out with it," the "no-eyebrow" ninja ordered.

"Well, do you want to share?"

Jaw dropped, eyes growing wide, "What?"

"You could take some of mine," the ebony-haired boy said proudly.

"Are you serious?" he asked in monotone, closing his mouth and blinking his eyes. One eyebrow, wait no, the area where an eyebrow should be, but was not, raised.

"Yup!"

And in some parallel universe, Gaara scream, 'cause he was **laughing** in this one. Gaara--the stoic crazy-killer--laughing? I guess he did get beaten. For some time now, he didn't seem to be stopping. But Lee didn't seem to mind, he actually seemed quite pleased.

"Lee, I'm not sharing eyebrows with you. They look just fine on you," the redhead said through uncharacteristic sets of chuckles. Eventually the laughter died down and he awaited the other's answer.

"Then I'll have to go with 'Plan B'."

"'Plan B'?"

"Yeah, instead of sharing them I'll just wax 'em!"

Jaw dropped, eyes growing wide...again. "You're gonna what?"

"Wax them!" he repeated happy.

"Why?" that place where the eyebrow **should** be raised again, after regaining composure.

"So people don't make fun of me anymore," his eyes took a distant look.

Nobody spoke and a light blush crept onto Gaara's facial features. His head turned to the side, "So what?"

"What?" puzzlement etched itself on the genin's face.

"So what? What does it matter what they think?"

"I just don't want to be laughed at," Lee said sadly, eyes now downcast.

"Don't worry about it."

"What?"

"Just kick their asses if they do."

Now it was Lee's turn to have his jaw dropped and his eyes wide, "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" the Shukaku vessel frowned lightly.

"Because it wouldn't be sane!" he exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And since when have you been sane?"

Lee pouted and agreed to beat anybody up who made fun of him, with much persuassion. They both sat on the couch underneath the warmth of the blanket, but far away from each other. The two where facing each other and both thinking of what to say.

"Why were you mad?" Lee started the conversation with a blush on his face.

"About what?"

"Sakura," that one word made the redhead hiss. _Now he's hissing?_ Lee thought confused.

"No reason," he replied through gritted teeth.

"Tell me, please," and that ever-dreaded puppy face appeared.

"She just... I hate her, okay?"

"Why?" his hair fell as he tilted his head.

"No reason," Gaara mumbled barely audible.

"C'mon tell me, pppplllleeeeaaassseeee," God how he hated that face!

"Personal reasons," he managed to choke out.

"Please! Aren't we best friends. I told you my secret!" the ebony-haired genin pouted and remained doing the puppy-dog face, hoping to persuade the other into telling.

"'Cause..." he started in a sure tone, "'Cause you like her," he heard himself saying in a whisper. A thick line of crimson spread itself on his cheeks and nose.

Lee leaned closed forward, so his head could rest on his knees in front of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

Gaara's head dropped in a sweatdrop. Inhaling a deep breath he released it in a sigh and looked unemotionally at Lee. Although that didn't work since half his face was already a tomato. "I hate her because you like her so much," he said slightly louder then before. Still the leaf ninja strained to lean closer and faced his ear toward the Kazekage.

"You're speaking too soft!" the Gai replica pouted.

A growl, a growl of annoyance, a growl of anger, a growl from Gaara. (Ouch) The house owner visibly shivered. "Look, Lee, I just can't tell you!" he barked unexpectedly.

"Hm... Is it because she can beat Naruto when you can't?"

Sigh, "No."

"Is it because she gets a lot of attention?"

Growl, "No!"

"Is it because she likes Sasuke and you want him?"

Twitch, "What the--? Hell no!" _I, Sabuka no Gaara, wanting Sasuke to myself? I'd take that stupid fox-boy before him! But I don't want them, that's just wrong!_

"I know!" his hand, in a fist, pounded into the other that was flat.

"What?" the redhead asked stoically.

"You hate beautiful Sakura because someone who you like likes her," his index finger and thumb rubbed at his chin. "No, that can't be right. Gaara doesn't like anybody! But what other reason is there?" Lee pondered on his decision as the other shoke his head in disbelief.

"You got it," he answered monotonously.

"Really?" the ebony-haired genin's face lit up in excitement. "Tell me who! PPPLLLEEEAAAAASSSSEEEEE!" and that damn adorable puppy-dog face showed itself.

Gaara, not wanting to tell, was straining not to give in. _If I say it's him, he'll think I like him. When I am obviously **not** homosexual!_

_**Yeah, that's why you hate that wench... This would be perfect blackmail, if only you would GO. TO. SLEEP!**_

_Shut up you damn racoon!_ Gaara jumped back to reality and watched helplessly as Lee pleaded and pleaded.

"Tell me, PLEASE! I promise not to tell!" his hands clasped in front of his body as he took the look of a begger.

"Fine," the redhead mentally kicked himself and growled as he continued. "I hate Sakura because this idiot likes her," Lee watched him patiently, "that idiot would be my...best...friend."

Shukaku's vessel winced as no reply came and the leaf shinobi looked at him, a hurt expression posted on the boy's face.

"You have another best friend who knows her?" his bottom lip quivered, "I thought I was your best friend."

The Kazekage ground his teeth and clenched and unclenched his hands. "Idiot! You are!"

"Oh," Lee took on a quite surprised look.

**A/N: Is that enough fluff for you? . I thought it was sooooooo kawaii! I had a blast writing it! I don't mind if you review or not, I'm just glad you took your time to read it! Hope you enjoyed it and hope you can't wait for the next chapter! Also, gomen nasai for making it a cliff-hanger! **


	5. From Dusk to Dawn

**Pickles**

**blackharu2**

_Do not own..._

**This chapter isn't very humorous (TT-TT) but it's really fluffy! EEK! Please enjoy the cuteness!**

Edited by -- jakuzabi (three cheers for her! w00t w00t w00t!)

"You hate her because I like her?" Lee asked increduiously.

Gaara sighed, willing the heat on his cheeks to vanish. "Yes."

"Gaara, do you like me?" Lee furrowed his brows, "I mean not like how friends like each other, but like a crush?"

A sand covered arm rose and it's palm rested on his left temple. His fingers pressed firmly into his scalp, a look of pain shadowing his facial features. His eyes were downcast as silence hung in the air.

"I don't know," he finally answered, rising from the couch. "I'm gonna take a walk." He trudged to the front door, hand still applying pressure to his skull. He opened the door and a blonde woman stood on the doormat, one hand holding a scroll the other hanging in the air. Her hand retreated to her mouth where she coughed an "Ahem".

"Hokage-sama," Lee said from his position behind the redhead.

"Gaara-san, I have something for you," the older blonde announced, holding out her hand. "This is the scroll you're here to collect, correct?"

"Gaara-kun, you only came here for the scroll?" Lee asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Yes, I came on business. I am Kazekage," he answered in a monotone.

"Well, Gaara-san, I suggest you get back to the Suna, soon. Tomorrow morning will be fine. It's too dark already." She smiled at them. The Kazekage thanked her for the advice and they bid each other farewell. Instead of closing the door after her though, he stepped outside into the nighttime air.

"Lee-kun, good night" he stated, exiting the household. Lee stared sadly at the closed door in front of him.

"Good night, Gaara-kun," he said sadly, breaking his gaze from the wooden door. His eyes showed hurt, then changed to reveal determination. He turned to the coat hanger and grabbed his nearest jacket. Putting his arms through the sleeves, he made his way out of the house.

He ran after the sand-nin, calling out his name every now and again. He suddenly noticed a head of red hair walking and sprinted up to the person.

"Gaara-kun?" he asked quietly, tapping the person on his shoulder. The said male turned around and charcoal locked with turquoise.

"Gaara-kun, may I join you on your walk?" he asked hopefully. The other nodded. The two walked around in silence, both stealing glances at the other.

"What are you going to do?" Lee questioned

"About what?"

"When I go to sleep."

"I don't know"

"Then I won't go to sleep!" he confirmed, folding his arms over his chest. "C'mon, let's go back home!" he shouted, dragging the Shukaku vessel by the arm.

"Home?" he asked silently, testing the word on his lips. He gave a small smile as he let himself be dragged to his makeshift home.

Quickly, they made it back to the house with Gaara in one piece. The two sat on the couch, the television on once again for entertainment. Lee and Gaara watched cartoons in a silence, each just enjoying the other's company.

The redhead sat on one side of the couch, his elbow on the armrest with his hand supporting his head. Lee was sitting all the way on the other side, looking more tired every second. Soon enough the leaf-nin lay on the couch, head resting on the armrest.

"Gaara?" he called, coming into a sitting position, seemingly restless.

"What?"

"Can I..." He mumbled the end of the question softly. Then with a mustering of courage he repeated his question. "Can I use your leg as a pillow?"

Gaara's eyes widened in surprise and he felt heat once more creep to his cheeks. _Did he really just ask that?_ he asked mentally, still shocked. The taijutsu master was looking at him with a hopeful, yet scared face.

"Sure," he finally answered, the crimson cloud hovering darkly over his nose and cheeks. He felt the area next to him shift in weight, then he felt a foreign object on his thigh. He looked down smiling slightly at the mop of black hair in his lap.

Silence hung in the atmosphere, both content with the quiet. The television murmured continuously, the cartoons playing comical music. The next time Gaara glanced down at the head in his lap, Lee's eyes were closed and the rise and fall of his chest was even.

"Lee?" he whispered, not expecting an answer. When he didn't receive one, a small smile graced his lips and a hand came up to the taller boy's forehead. He pushed the soft locks to the side, creating a better view of Lee's face.

_He looks so cute when he sleeps._

_**And you said you weren't gay!**_

_I don't know_, he said cutting off the conversation with the demon, not in the mood to talk with the racoon. Heck, he was never in a mood, but he really didn't want to hear Shukaku's voice now. His private thoughts returned to a certain sleeping shinobi.

Gaara refused to believe he had a crush on the overly hyper ninja. He refused to be gay all together. He had no tolerance for it, he didn't accept it. He never was really fond of the same gender being with each other. Two sexes were made, meaning they were supposed to go together, if they weren't there would have only be one gender.

Still, he couldn't find himself to disagree with the odd sensation in his heart or the tingling in his stomach; the knotts and butterflies. He should want to punch the boy in the jaw, want to see the other male bleed. However, he wouldn't do that. He found their relationship too sensitive. It would only dampen whatever they had.

The redhead decided he couldn't help it. It couldn't **be** helped. He felt _something_ towards the ebony-haired shinobi. He left what exactly it was undecided, not wanting to go further into the scrutiny right now. He could ponder on it later.

_He asked me if I like him... Do I?_ he asked himself, mindlessly playing with black locks. He thought over the personal question, unsure himself. One second he thought it was obvious, the next he was completely and utterly confused.

"Lee, what if I did like you?"

"The feeling's-" snore, "-mutual," the leaf-nin stated, obviously half-asleep at most. Gaara grinned at the childish male using him as a pillow. If he really did like men at least he would like Lee, that he could handle.

He let the subject pass from his mind and turned his attention to the colorful screen of badly drawn cartoons. Tonight would be rather boring, seeing as he couldn't get up and walk around the town, but he figured it was almost alright if it was Lee making him bored. Besides, he would find a way to keep himself entertained.

­­­­­­­

------------------------------

The sunlight shone through the thin window curtains. The light bathed the room in a golden hue, looking almost angelic. Lee woke up slowly, rubbing at his still closed eyes. After ridding the sleep in his eyes and fully awakening, he rose from the couch. He thought about yesterday.

The images brought a wide smile to his face. Who knew Gaara had a soft side? However, when he looked to the sofa, in hopes to find Gaara looking at him with a confused face, his smile vanished. Seeing no misunderstood Gaara faltered his mood. Gaara not even being there saddened him.

He wondered on whether or not the redhead coming to Konoha was just a dream. What if what happened between them and the strengthened friendship was just a figment of his imagination? It seemed so very real.

He tried to think back into the "dream", asking himself if he was ever hurt. Emotionally he was, yet no actually physical pain. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he sighed in sorrow. This whole "visit" was all just a dream. Nothing _real_ happened.

"Gaara, why are we leaving so soon!" he heard a feminine voice shout from outside. His hopes suddenly lifted as he bolted out of the house. Once outside, he smiled at the scene before him. A mad Temari was yelling to a stoic Gaara while Kankurou was holding all their luggage.

"I never even got to see Shika-kun!" she yelled, obviously pouting.

"We need to get home," he replied simply, brushing off her whining.

"Gaara..." Lee said breathlessly, plastering a fake smile on his face. The said male turned and faced him.

"Lee..?" the other siblings looked from the two to each other, then back at the two, then back to each other.

"Did something happen between you guys or somethin'?" Kankurou asked, completely confused. Temari sighed and shrugged at the three boys.

_Oh why, oh why was I stuck with them? Gaara's physco, Kankurou's a freak and Lee's an idiot,_ she stated mentally, waiting for an answer from whoever was supposed to be listening.

"Leaving already?" Lee asked the group, tilting his head in confusion.

"Only Gaara wants to. I told him we should've woken you up, but he didn't wanna. He said we needed to go home, and that it'd be best for you not to know." Kankurou explained, cowering under the intense glare he was receiving from his brother.

"...Gaara?" Lee repeated, eyebrows knitted in small anger, "Okay, I guess I'll see you guys later!" he said, gluing the same artificial smile onto his face.

"No! I wanna see Shika," Temari whined loudly.

"I want to talk to someone too," Kankurou said, blushing.

"No, we need to go," Gaara responded unemotionally, almost bored.

"Well, an hour or two couldn't hurt, right Gaara?" the taijutsu master stated. The Kazekage glared at the leaf-nin slightly, but nodded eventually. Temari squealed, while the puppet master had already disappeared.

Lee watched the two run off and smiled. He turned to the redhead and asked softly, "Why did you want to leave so bad?"

The shorter gave a grunt and sighed. "I didn't," he said quietly.

"Then why were you rushing?"

"I need to go back soon," he replied truthfully.

"You could've at least told me."

"You would've made those puppy eyes..."

"So?"

"I don't like them."

"What, these?" he made the cutest puppy-dog face he could muster and looked at Gaara.

"Yes, those."

"Why?"

"I just do."

"Why?" he drawled out, acting sad, still puppy-dog-ing.

"Because I do," the redhead growled out.

"Sure, Gaara..."

"Lee? Do you want me to leave?"

Lee pondered on the question, a hand coming to rest on chin, the other holding the elbow. "Nope!" he said happily, smiling at the Kazekage.

The redhead's eyes went wide, then shrunk to their normal size, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Thanks," he said softly, the other looking puzzled.

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

"Um... Gaara, I... Well... I," he started, plucking at the collar of his pajamas. A cloud of crimson hung over his nose and cheeks and his eyes looked down. His face showed nervousness, yet was serious.

"What is it, Lee?"

"Gaara, I really like you!"

**...:TBC:...**

**Wow, such a cliffy! Ooh, even I can't wait for the next chapter... Tell me what you thought. Can't wait for your complaints and/or compliments!**


	6. The Truth

**Pickles**

**blackharu2**

_Do not own..._

_"Gaara, I really like you!"_

Lee let his eyes fall to the ground. There. He said it. The thought hadn't come up very often, but when it did, he would think about it for a long while. He knew Gaara could return the feeling, however, the odds were painfully against him. The redhead would leave soon enough and not return, unless on business, and Lee needed to see that. Still, he couldn't help but think that the Kazekage was hiding something.

"Lee, I don't know.."

Those three words. That one phrase. They struck his inside, pierced his heart and he felt horribe. This wasn't like Sakura, not like when she rejected him and he simply didn't care. This hurt so much worse, the pain was almost unbearable. However, he wouldn't let such a thing get to him. He'd been through worse, he would deal. At most he only seemed to scare Gaara away, and maybe that was better for the both of them. Maybe if they didn't see each other for a while they would see there really was nothing between them.

But Lee didn't want that. Lee still wanted to be be best friends with this boy.

"I'm sorry," Lee stated, black strands of hair covering his eyes, "you just said before you didn't know your feelings. I'm sorry I brought it up, just forget I ever said anything..." His fingers curled into his hands, nails digging hurtfully into skin. He chewed on his bottom lip, trying to keep in the any noise from the pain he was putting himself through.

"Lee..." He felt Gaara's somewhat concerned gaze and winced. He hadn't meant for the other to feel _sorry_ for him. He wanted the other to see he was perfectly fine. He would just let it all go, no problem.

He blinked his eyes forcefully and let go of his now bruised lip. Lee stretched out his hands by his sides, fingers spaced from each other. "Gaara, I'm fine, really!" He smiled, lifting his head up to expose the completely fake smile. He laughed as happily as he could and gave a half-hearted "good-guy pose". The ping of his teeth didn't sound and the smile was already dispersing.

"Lee," the redhead sighed with a small roll of his eyes, "I just need time."

"Time? I might never see you again, so it doesn't matter! I don't care anymore, honestly!"

Lee winced. That wasn't what he meant. He had meant it to come out as he was fine without an answer, knowing what it would've been. Instead, the phrase came out as an irritated groan. As if he didn't care about the answer, or the person. He didn't want Gaara to think that, never did he want Gaara to think that. He would just take it back, that would work, right? He could always just take it back.

"Fine," Gaara stated, glaring at the leaf-nin, and walked away, scowling. He couldn't believe Lee just said that. After all he said, after he said they were best friends. He goes and says he doesn't care. Well, he didn't need to stick around to hear the rest of the speech. He would leave. Leave without finding Temari or Kankurou. Leaving without telling anyone. He would just leave, knowing Lee was watching the whole time.

And leave is what he did. He walked away, arms crossed over his chest, eyes glaring at everything in front of him. In his mind he tried to erase everything he ever knew of the taijutsu master. Their first meeting, their first fight, the Kimimaro incident. Everything. Even the night they just shared. One night that _would've_ gone done as one of the best nights of Gaara's life. But, now, the feeling had disappeared and he never wanted it to return.**(1)**

He faintly heard the calls of the shinobi in the backround, asking him to stop and stay. He walked on though, not even throwing a look to the boy. He wondered idly what the taijutsu master wanted, probably to apologize. However, after what Lee had just said, he couldn't believe he ever agreed on being the idiot's friend. Lee had enough friends as it was, he sure as hell didn't need Gaara as one.

"Gaara! You forgot the scroll!" Lee yelled, running to catch up with his visitor. He would certainly give Gaara the time he needed to cool down. But in anger, the Kazekage had left behind the precious scroll that happened to be the only reason Gaara ended up in Konoha-gakure anyways. He watched the redhead hesitantly come to a stop, turning away slightly.

Lee walked up to the redhead and held out the scroll, grinning the same half-hearted grin, and sweatdropped. "Didn't want you to forget about that," he said after Gaara took the object from him. He didn't expect a thank you or anything of the sort, but he was still glad to get a small nod of the head in replacement. He took this moment of silence to apologize for his mistake, however, knowing Gaara it wouldn't be that easy.

"Gaara, I'm really sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it to come out that way, Didn't really think about what I was saying. What I meant to say was that you don't need to give me an answer, I don't mind," Lee rambled quickly, slurring all of the words together. He saw Gaara's confused expression and sweatdropped, faking a chuckle.

"I said I was sorry... About everything," the ebony-haired shinobi simplified. He caught the other's "ohhhh" expression and smiled softly to himself. Maybe, just maybe, Gaara would forgive them and they could return to being friends. Lee figured that liking your friend seemed to change everything about the relationship, just like everyone said.

"Hn," Gaara replied, telling Lee he really didn't care anymore. The meaning brought a full-fledge smile onto the boy's face. They simply stood there for a few minutes, no words being spoken. The leaf-nin sighed happily, looking around, seeming to just notice something.

"Gaara? Did you leave without Temari or Kankurou?" he questioned, looking around for the siblings. He recieved a nod as an answer and sighed, shaking his head at the Kazekage.

"They wouldn't care," Gaara elaborated, "they're too busy anyways."

"Yes they would! You shouldn't say that! Let's go find them!" Lee announced, grabbing hold of a hand and dragging the boy to another destination. He failed to notice the dark blush creeping onto the other's face, said boy letting a smile tug at his lips. He let himself be dragged and found the time useful to think. Soon enough they came to a stop and Gaara reluctantly left his thoughts, assuring himself to return to them again.

"Gaara," he heard Lee whisper, making them both sit on the ground behind a bush, "is that your sister?" he asked, still keeping his voice low. The redhead looked over the plant and his eye twitched as he glared at the two.

Lee couldn't believe what he was seeing... Well, actually, he could, but that was beside the point. There Gaara's _sister_ was, hugging Shikamaru, with him hugging _back_. He was pleased to see they weren't kissing, however, it was also a shock to see Ino laying in the grass beside them. She was watching silently, a smug smile on her face as the two broke away from each other. Lee half expected the chuunin to say how "troublesome" the whole thing was, but surprisingly nothing exited his mouth.

The taijutsu master took a glance to the boy beside him and grinned at the look on his friend's face. He turned to Gaara fully, grin still plastered to his face, "Gaara, let's go," and by that he meant "let's find Kankurou" and the redhead knew exactly what he meant. Oddly enough, they seemed to grow a better understanding of one another.

The Kazekage nodded and stood up, seeming to not care about his sister being able to spot him. He walked in the opposite direction of the blonde, knowing Lee was hot on his heels. He didn't slow his pace after he was far enough for his sister not to see him. He continued to walk quickly through the trees of an unnamed forest, not even doubting that Lee was behind him. Soon enough he heard a familiar voice, and one not so familiar.

Not even bothering to hide behind a tree or bush, like Lee did, Gaara stood and watched his brother. The puppet master was with a fairly attractive lady, a shinobi headband wrapped around her right thigh. She had somewhat long, beautiful hair, the tressels stopping at her mid-back, soft brown curls framing her face and figure. Her curves were average, her outfit giving a clear outline, but still being modest. Dark amber eyes and an unfaltering smile adorned her facial features.**(2)**

The two were laughing, Kankurou's puppet out. The old doll rattled with the harsh sound of wood on wood as he instructed it on how to move. The chakura strings attached to both the puppet and his fingers, barely noticeable. The older brother was making weird faces, smiling all the while and moving the doll into many odd positions. The girl watched his actions and giggled behind her palm, eyes squeezing shut. Soon, the sand-nin turned his head to notice a quizical, yet bored, look on his brother's face.

He blushed, figuring he was being spied on, and shuffled his feet. With renewed courage, he lifted his head, ready to introduce the kunoichi to the Kazekage, to find Lee running after a redhead. Kankurou sweatdropped and watched as the two vanished from view. He turned back to the girl and went back to making her laugh, shrugging his shoulders at his brother's actions.

"Gaara!" Lee yelled after the sand-nin, walking briskly to catch up with him. The redhead ignored the shout and continued to walk quickly through the maze of trees, looking with indifference at the trees.

"Gaara!" Lee repeated, shouting the name over and over, requesting the ninja to stop. The boy refused to comply, though, and kept walking, not even glancing back. Suddenly, the redhead took an abrupt turn, leaving Lee to wonder what was up with the Kazekage. Still, the leaf-nin raced after him, determination flashing through his eyes, compromising to himself about a jog or two, or 500, around Konoha if he didn't stop Gaara.

"Ga--" The taller shinobi started, taking the right that the redhead did, only to find said boy under a large weeping willow**(3)**. His back was against the trunk and his eyes were closed comfortably, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. The sunlight broke through the many leaves of the tree and shone on the peaceful redhead. At first Lee wanted to say that Gaara looked angelic, but the leaf-nin retracked that thought and turned it into minced meat, thinking Gaara would be _anything but angelic. _

"Gaara?" He questioned quietly, walking closer to the male. Lazily, the redhead opened an eye and peered at Lee. The jumpsuit-clad boy froze, he was...bewildered. The eyes he was looking into held such...life? Normally the turqiose eyes held an annoyed, bored, dead, or any other negative emotion in them. Once they even held look of kindness or care, happiness or joy.. But never had he seen something compared to that. Somewhere in the back of Lee's mind, he wished he could change the unnerving look to one of passion, or love, maybe even just likeness. However, he knew that couldn't happen and he was just fooling himself. But before he could try to crack the code of the new found look, the eyes closed.

Lee stared at the peaceful face of the other. He hadn't said a word for the longest time and the silence was killing him. He thought for a moment that the redhead was sleeping, then mentally kicked himself for thinking such a thought. His black eyes roamed over the body, not able to see much with all the clothing. Lee was also pleased to see the Kazekage had taken off his gourd, he found that a rare thing.

"Lee?" Gaara addressed, opening his eyes once again, but to Lee's dismay they held no "life" like they had before. He sulked silently to himself for a few seconds before looking at the shinobi.

"What is it, Gaara?" he replied, taking a step closer to the boy, never having moved from his spot.

"How come...?" the redhead trailed off, leaving the words floating in the air.

"How come what?"

"How come everyone has someone?"

Lee waited patiently for "but me" to show up at the end of the question. Oddly enough, the sentence ended on its own accord and left Lee somewhat at a lost for words. He didn't know how to answer such a question, not with a good answer at least. He racked his brain for anything wise, or witty in any sense. However, after coming up empty-handed he opted for answering with his own words.

"Not everyone has someone..." He let the statement die, a lump forming in his throat. He could've sworn he was choking on his Adam's Apple, but gulped down saliva to find it was only his uneasiness.

"Do you have someone?" Even though the sentence was vague, Lee knew what the sand-nin was asking, and he smiled sadly.

"Not exactly... Nobody really likes me," seeing the confused gaze of Gaara, he continued, "Gai-sensei is the only one that seems to like me. Tenten is like my sister, but even she doesn't act like she's my friend all the time. Most of the time I'm made fun of and I've learned to not really care."

Lee took a few bold steps toward the shinobi, ending his little lecture. He caught the quizical look Gaara was sending him, but didn't act on it. Honestly, he didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to relive his whole childhood to explain why he was the dunce of his class. He didn't like to remember how he was picked on and how Tenten and Neji had been so disgusted by being on the same team with him for the first coupled weeks. He was glad Gai-sensei took a liking to him and didn't toss him like garbage, not even giving him a chance.

"So, you have _Gai_?" Gaara asked, shifting his gaze from Lee to the ground beside him, instructed the taijutsu master to sit next to him. The leaf-nin complied and took a seat next to his friend, not losing eye contact with the boy.

"Well.. I guess.. But he has someone else, someone that isn't me.." The boy's eyes were downcast, hands aimlessly picking at weeds. A nonexistent eyebrow raised at him, asking him to elaborate, but fell back into place when the shinobi didn't continue.

"And you want someone else?" the redhead guess, smirking at the shinobi beside him. Lee's eyes widened as he looked up, straight into turquoise orbs. He smiled, giving a hearty thumbs up to Gaara, and nodded with a "Mm-hm".

A sudden urge pushed Gaara forward, the redhead grabbing his friend's chin in one hand. He took one look at the surprised face and let a smile slowly creep onto his face. Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned forward, pulling the leaf-nin's head toward him. The grip was frim, yet soft, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to make the boy move without much effort. He let his eyelids fall, paying no attention to Lee's confused and shocked gaze.

With an unfamiliar sensation pulsing thourgh Gaara's veins, he leaned closer to the taijutsu master. He clumsily placed his lips over the other's and found himself wanting more. It was awkward feeling to him, having only appeared just now, but he kept his cool and quickly broke away from the incidental kiss. He looked to the leaf-nin and couldn't help but let a small smile escape at the dazed look on his face. Soon, Lee came to his senses and stared at Gaara, utterly confused.

"What was that for?" Lee asked with caution, not sure if it was a bad subject to ask on.

"I don't know," the Kazekage answered truthfully, idly searching for the scroll somewhere in his garments, "but I found it satisfying."

Lee had to take a few moments for the whole sentence to sink in. But when it did, he beamed, "I did too." Unexpectedly, his smile faltered and a frown adorned his facial features. "But remember? You said you weren't sure about your feelings... It just doesn't seem right," Lee explained, averting his eyes anywhere to avoid looking at Gaara.

"Oh well." And with no advance warning he found himself being kissed again, but forcefully this time. He responded with his tongue poking at closed lips, demanding entrance to the mouth of his infatuation. He felt sand pick at him, making him gasp in pain, but refused to pull back. Without any sign, a foreign object was invading his own mouth, it seemed to be exploring.

He felt somewhat awkward, the feeling bubbling in his chest. The odd pain settled down some, coming to rest above his abdomen. He smiled slightly into the kiss, not fully believing this was happening. He just wonderd himself why the sand wasn't doing very much damage. He was getting pinched and poked by it, but nothing too drastic. He decided to not think about that right now and just enjoy the kiss. He drew back slowly, earlier than he wanted to, and stared happily into bright green eyes.

"That was..." Lee thought of words to express what he was feeling. Awesome? Lovable? "That was...nice."

**..:End Chapter:..**

**So... Should there be more chapters? Or should this really be the end? I'm asking you to see what you want.. So, tell me what you want.. I'm already planning a..._somewhat_ sequel.. It's going to be attached t this fic, kinda going in order, but not exactly connected... It'll be called "Cucumbers" so look out for it...**

Also, I don't want to seem demanding or anything, so you can ignore this part... But I want to _try_ to get at least 10 reviews.. Whether I get that or not will **not** determine anything about the next chapter. Okay, you get the point... Thanks. Bai-bai!

_**1 - I don't know about you guys... But I think Gaara would get a little pissed about someone saying they were his best friend then saing they didn't care. Seems like something that would get oor Gaa-chan mad... And we all know Gaa-chan can get VERY mad... Heh heh -- ;**_

_**2 - I couldn't choose who to put Kankurou with. I dislike Sakura so she's off the list. Ino's with Shika-kun and Tem-chan. Honestly, he would never even give Hinata a chance and Ten-chan was hinted with Neji.. So I made up another shinobi, so MWA HA HA... And I liked her, so at least Kankurou got someone good, in my opinion.**_

_**3 - I don't know if they have willow trees in Konoha, but they do now! And if you don't know what a "weeping willow" is... It's a tree where the branches fall downward when growing and stuff, making it seem like it's crying.**_


	7. The Ending

**Title: **Pickles  
**Author: **Dana-chaaan.  
**Information: **Anime – Naruto – LeeGaara

**Summary: **Gaara and his siblings come for a visit and Lee's their tour guide! And what does it have to do with pickles?

**Author's Note: **Haha. I didn't really even think of writing another chapter for this story. Gah! Uhm, so, yeah. I just figured that it'd be appropriate to, seeing as I wrote "HIATUS" in the summary. Haha, so here's the last chapter of Pickles, and hopefully better than the previous chapters. ((Goodness, blahblah)) Haha. Do I have cheesy chapter titles, or what? Haha!

**Seventh Chapter.  
**The Ending

It had been a week since their fateful kiss. Just one week, yet it felt like so much longer. After that day, Gaara had to return home, much to Lee's dismay. Apparently, the other two siblings hadn't wanted to leave either, but as it was, Gaara was the Kazekage, and couldn't necessarily take long vacations.

Regardless, Lee could still faintly feel the strange, electric vibe that coursed through his body when they had kissed. At the time, he hadn't been able to put a finger on whether or not the feeling he had been feeling was good. He liked the kiss, fair enough; however, never having kissed someone made him ignorant on what was good and bad. Of course, after an embarrassing talk to his favorite teacher, and he was set straight.

Only now, a week later, he was missing the redhead horribly. It wasn't as though he had just visited his friend and wanted to see the guy again. It was as though, the shinobi left right after kissing him and he didn't know what to do. Gaara hadn't even said what he felt toward the green beast; just left. And, frankly, Lee didn't know how to take that.

Kicking relentlessly at the tree stump settled some of his illegible feelings, while it was unable to cure other sensations. He sat languidly against another tree, eyes closed in what he hoped would help him relax. However, he found himself bombarded with inevitable thoughts that seemed to plague him constantly.

It had only been a week, which meant he probably wouldn't see the redhead for another week or so. So, for the time being, he needed to clear his head and perform like the professional shinobi he was. Which, unfortunately, seemed to be a lot harder to be done.

"Lee," he heard suddenly, shaking him from his depressing thoughts and snapping his eyes wide open. He stared, incredulous, at the male situated stiffly in front of him.

"Gaara...? What are you...doing here..?" Lee responded without realizing it himself, charcoal eyes staring into turquoise orbs.

"I felt like visiting," he replied in the vague way he normally acted, taking a step closer to the seated male, arms folded over his clothed chest. The gourd rested easily on his back, despite it heavy weight.

"You...? Alright, okay," Lee uttered, bewildered, but not unbelieving. He stood from his relaxed position and found himself a little over a meter away from the redhead. He smiled broadly at the sand-nin, "So, want another tour?" he teased.

The redhead, amazingly, smirked at that and answered, "I'd rather not."

"How about I treat you to a fancy lunch, then?"

To which Gaara replied, "A fancy lunch?"

"Yes, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," he said, still smiling happily.

The redhead sighed, "I guess, if I have to."

"You have to," Lee immediately replied, grabbing the other's hand purposely and semi-dragging the authority-figure to his beloved house.

Soon enough, the two shinobi entered the clean house, shuffling their sandals off and, for Gaara, resting the gourd in the corner of the first room. The redhead took a seat on the comfortable couch while Lee went straight for the kitchen to wrestle with the ingredients for this fancy meal. Quickly, he put together two pb&j sandwiches and walked over to the couch with one plate in his hand. He sat a bit of ways away from Gaara, resting the plate on the cushion in between them.

"Eat it, it's good," he assured, seeing Gaara's curious and disturbed stare at the offending sandwiches. Lee couldn't help but laugh at the facial expression before taking his own bread-pancake and taking a vigorous bite. Tentatively, which didn't suit the Kazekage, Gaara followed suit and took a smaller bite of his.

He scowled ridiculously as he chewed before swallowing and looking to the leaf-nin, "What's in this?"

Lee gave him a disbelieving stare before coughing roughly and answering, "White bread, peanut butter, and strawberry jam."

"Oh," was the only reply before he smugly saw the redhead pull the sandwich to his mouth for another bite.

Silently, they ate their meal, before the plate was empty, with the exception of the sprinkled crumbs. In a host-like manner, Lee took the plate to the sink before returning to the couch and sitting a little closer to the redhead this time around. He smiled cautiously at the Kazekage before resting against the cushioned back of the couch.

"Lee..." Gaara said, almost soundlessly.

The charcoal-eyed boy whipped his head around to gaze into light green eyes, "What is it, Gaara?"

"Do you..." He started, seemingly bashful, which really didn't suit the boy whatsoever. Lee watched, bemused, as the redhead stared off into the distance before finishing his question. "...like me?"

Shocked and unsure of how to answer, Lee looked distantly in the same direction as Gaara, hands fidgeting slightly in his lap. "I... I already told you, didn't I?" he choked out, surprised by the sudden question.

"Temari said it was obvious you did when I told her what you said. But, I didn't know if you still did... Or why, even," he responded in a monotone voice, as if masking his unease.

"I do. I mean, I still like you, a lot," Lee answered, being the out-and-forward guy he normally was, "And, really, I don't know why either," he chuckled softly to himself.

Gaara only nodded at the bit of information, and the two lapsed into a bit of silence. Lee felt unable to disturb the strangely peaceful feeling in the room with talking, so he opted for a silent action that would probably get him killed. Oh well, drastic moments called for drastic measures. Of course, he'd rather not stain his couch with blood. Assertive on his decision, he lifted his arm nearest Gaara and wrapped it around the back of the slightly touching the clothed shoulders of the other.

Luckily, or unluckily, for him, Gaara didn't respond at all. He didn't kill the leaf-nin for the action, but he didn't seem to relax into the position. He just sat, not quite rigid but his usual stiffness, as if he was unaware of what just happened.

"Do you..." He started again, bringing the taller boy's attention upon him, "Want me to like you back?"

His mind screamed yes, that he would want nothing more than the boy to like him. But, reasonably, he knew that was not the way to get this strange redhead to like him in return. And, unlike all his random loves he'd had, he wanted this one. Really wanted this one. "I would like that, but I can wait," he answered gently.

Once again, there was no verbal reply, but he felt the redhead relax into the position they were in, his head melting into the arm posed behind him. Lee smiled softly, neither moving from the odd moment.

But, being the teenager Lee was, and being awkwardly reckless at this brief lapse of time, the leaf-nin shifted his body slightly. His arm still wrapped indirectly around the boy's shoulders, but he turned his upper body, touching the side of Gaara's face with a bandaged hand. He felt fibers of sand under his bare fingers before he noted the piercing gaze of the other.

"Lee," the other began, although the voice trailed off as though there was no ending. Their faces were inches away from each other, just a little jolt forward and their noses would be touching. Trying his luck, and knowing Gaara could push him away at any given time, he eased his way froward, feeling their noses touch briefly.

However, he was the one surprised as Gaara shifted forward himself and kissed unsuspecting, but accepting, lips. Both closed their eyes in the awkward kiss, Lee's hand caressing the sand-like skin and Gaara's hands resting against the other's green spandex-clad torso.

Moments later, they pulled away from the closed-lipped kiss, eyes slipping open and befuddled. Oddly, the redhead was the one to end the silence, "I like you, too, Lee," he announced quietly, but firmly. And Lee could do nothing but smile at this bit of information.

**The Complete End.**

**Author's Note:** Short, sweet, and cuuute. Haha. Well, this is the end, I am sorry to say. I don't believe, sadly, that there will be a sequel. But, if you really want to believe so, you can think of my soon-to-come story "Can The Inevitable Be Saved?" as the sequel. Or, I dunno, envision one yourself. Haha, but anyways. This is the end, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please, review and tell me what you think. :D


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